Breaking Free
by Ardnexelia
Summary: "She is no mere child." Soa (eight years old), was found with a pack of orcs, assumed to be a prisoner. Wrong. She was brainwashed to become a prefect assassin to kill elves and men. And the person she hates most of all? Legolas. But she's not really eight, and if she wants to discover the truth she must break free. Rated T for minor violence and romance.


**I know it is kind of boring but if you suffer through the first few chapters it will get considerably better, I promise. Please read and review! Thanks.**

* * *

The hunting party the orcs came across were unaware that the girl was with them. They just assumed she was the orcs prisoner and swooped her up safely into their arms. She was only seven or six, they figured.

Wrong. Dead wrong. Within moments, the man on the horse had fallen to the ground, dead, and the little girl sat comfortably in the saddle. But no one took notice. They were busy finishing off the orcs. Soa leapt from the horses saddle with practiced ease, kicking another elf off his horse where it trampled him.

Without even touching her feet to the saddle, she used her hands to push off of the saddle and her momentum swung her forward into a flip. On the way down she pulled an arrow from one of the elves quivers and laid into them like water on paper. Within minutes, most of the elves lay dead on the ground. Only the single few remained.

And Soa would have finished them off to, if her little feet had not been gripped by a dying elf, and as she stepped forward her head slammed into a rock. So, for all intensive purposes, Soa was not a concern. "Should we take her back to Mirkwood?"

"Thranduil will know what to do with her."

"The girl is a threat to us."

"I say we end her." Another voice split the clearing. "We're headed for Rivendell. We shall bring her along. Elrond will know what to do, and Gandalf shall be there as well."

"Bind her arms and legs tightly. We have seen what she can do. Do not pity her. She is no mere child."

* * *

Soa woke up, but kept her eyes closed. It was a practice she had long favored. Opening her eyes could result in the enemy noticing her consciousness, who would then proceed to deal with her as planned. In this way she could listen and become more familiar with her environment.

She was lying on a cold rock floor. She could feel two chains binding her wrists and ankles. She could also feel a bruise on her head where she had hit her head. Stupid elf. She flicked one eye open. Voices cam from outside the door, and she could feel their gaze. Watching. Listening.

"She was with an orc pack heading to Mordor." An older elf. If he was here, then high up. Elrond? "That silvery hair," An old and wizened voice. Gandalf, most likely. "she is indeed fascinating. What is hidden beneath that eyepatch, I wonder?" Soa clenched her fists. "A scar, old man. A horrible, ugly scar put there by an elf," she growled. She pulled herself into a sitting position.

Elrond seemed amused. "What elf would brand such a young child with such a mark? You are mistaken." But Soa would say no more, simply turned her back on the pair and sat facing the wall. Gandalf sighed and left, following Elrond back up the passageway. She could hear them speaking until the clang of a large metal door cut of their voices and plunged her into darkness.

Minutes later, another elf appeared. He slid open the door to her cell and stepped inside, setting a platter of food next to her. He leaned over so it wouldn't spill if he dropped it. His mistake. He was dead before he hit the floor. Soa couldn't find any conventional weapons on him, so she slid his scarf from his neck and wrapped it around her hands a few times. It could be used effectively.

Soa climbed the stairs after slamming the cell door shut and found the door. She yanked it open and stepped into the sun. It almost seemed to burn her skin. Quickly she moved into a patch of shade and made her way up towards a spot where a meeting appeared to be taking place.

People lined the circular space in chairs. In the center was a gold ring, and Elrond sat behind it. She crept up behind Elrond and swung her improvised weapon over his head and twisted it, choking off his stream of words. Instantly people drew their weapons. Soa used this time to slip behind Elrond, using him as a shield.

"Make a move and the elf dies." She hissed at them. Several seemed to chuckle, while others prepared to throw, hurl, fire, and catapult various weapons at her. She ripped of her eyepatch and threw it to the ground. They needed to know she meant business. A collective gasp rippled through the assembled crowd.

It was one of the worst injuries she had ever had, although it looked much worse than it was. The elf who had given it to her had slashed her eye with a dull blade, then shoved her into the fire head first. She remembered screaming in agony before being yanked back out of the fire only to receive yet another slash across her eye. It was hideous. She could've scrubbed it away with magic, but she preferred to keep it. It reminded her of her hatred for elves.

Elrond grasped her hair and flipped her over, but it just tightened the scarf and his face began turning purple. An arrow severed the cloth and Elrond gasped for air. Soa turned, fuming inwardly, to the elf who had shot the arrow. "You." She whispered, and yanked Elrond's sword from him and hurled it at the elf. She watched him cry out in pain as the elven metal sliced through his tunic and cut a deep gash in his side.

Legolas collapsed on his side, blood staining his tunic an ugly brown color. It was the last thing she saw before dozens of guards surrounded her and took her away, but it left a single sentence scuttling around her brain. _An eye for an eye, murderer._

* * *

After considering, Elrond quickly realized that Soa had gotten her fair share of revenge for the time being. All she did was sit in the gardens or in the halls, wandering about silently. The meeting, however important, had been postponed until Legolas recovered sufficiently. Over the past week of his incarceration in the sick room, he had built up a strong hate for the girl who went by Soa.

Gandalf had taken up the role of watching over Soa, and indeed she had taken to following just a few steps behind him wherever he went. On several occasions he had barely managed to stop her from killing a few elves for snapping at her that she was a monster. But since she had wounded Legolas, she showed no emotion. She simply was and did not seem to feel.

Gandalf sighed. Soa was waiting outside, fascinated by a book of legends. She could not read, but the pictures seemed to capture some of her interest. "Elrond, I don't know what we shall do with her. I have sensed something strange about her. Her mind has been enslaved by the power of the witch king. She believes and elf harmed her like that. In fact it was the Witch King, I believe. He gave her his memories of pain and elves killing orcs, but she believes that Legolas truly caused the horrific scar that mars her face. She doesn't understand anything. She is an emotionless doll."

Elrond nodded, resting his arm on the balustrade and looked out across Rivendell. "She should accompany the fellowship. Gandalf, she can not stay here. She has already killed three elves, and I can not continue to put my people at risk because of a single girl." Gandalf nodded. "Not everyone will except her, Lord Elrond. Legolas loathes her already, and the hobbits are scared of her as well."

Elrond considered. "It is for the best. Perhaps destroying the Witch King will return her to herself." Gandalf bowed his head. "I respect your judgment, Lord Elrond." The pair walked towards the door, speaking amiably about the things to come. Elrond swung open the door and gazed at the abandoned book that was sitting on the stone bench. The scene painted an aura of calm and serenity, but both knew the consequences of this unspoken statement.

* * *

Legolas roamed through the trees by the river, bow out and nocked, but loose at his side. He yearned for the speed of battle and running through the woods, but if he ran here he would find himself tumbling over a cliff. He sighed, wishing he was home. His stomach wound still hurt horribly, although admitting it wasn't an option.

He crouched down by the water and ran his fingers through the cool river. The light current tugged at his fingers gently, and he could hear birds humming in the trees. Rivendell was astonishingly beautiful. He heard a faint lilting melody on the breeze. Curious despite himself, he followed it to a small clearing where erosion had created a small swimming hole, a break in the current.

Soa was sitting on the bank, legs dangling in the water. She had pulled of her dress and wore only a black shift that accented her white hair, and she was singing softly. It was a sad song, mellifluous, but with a bitter-sweet tang to it like dark chocolate.

Legolas's lip curled slightly. He hated her, even though it was hard to hate the seven year old, even if she did fatally wound you. She had that certain something that made everyone want to trust her. She spoke slowly, for what he supposed was the first time in days. "You abhor me. I hate myself, sometimes." It wasn't an outburst of emotion, more of a fact.

"Yes. I hate you more than anyone."

"You murdered my parents. You tortured me." Legolas snorted. "You are going insane little girl. I didn't torture you. I try not to torture humans to much."

"But you like it don't you. The hum of battle. The electricity that comes with pain." Legolas laughed bitterly. "I suppose I do. I try to avoid pain whenever possible, however."

"To bad." He glared at her. "Why's that?"

"We were almost the same for a second." And then she stood and walked away, letting him mull over her words. Legolas noticed her dress slip into the river and float away, shasaying down the river as if it didn't have a care in the world.

* * *

Elrond had all the guards out looking. He turned to Gandalf. "Mithrandir! Can't you track her?" Gandalf held his head with his fingers. "I'm trying. The girl knows how to cover her tracks from me. I can't sense her presence, ever." Elrond shook his head. "If we don't find her... a dangerous girl will be on the loose. People won't be wary of a little girl."

Gandalf lowered his hands. "I have her. Suddenly she just appeared out of nowhere. It's as if she wants to be found." Quickly, Gandalf instructed the guards on her position. Elrond shook his head exasperatedly. "With Soa, anything is possible." Gandalf looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"You used her name instead of calling her a little girl. Getting used to her. Letting your guard down." He sighed and walked off to find Soa before she caused real damage. "Just like all the others." he murmured to himself. Gandalf found Soa sitting on the ground in a ring of fallen elves. "Not dead," he muttered. "thank you."

* * *

Finally, finally, a course of action was decided. The fellowship set out two weeks later. Soa listened to the chattering of teeth. They had reached the mountain some days ago, and a thick snow had built up. She herself wasn't cold. She didn't feel like that. But the hobbits were freezing.

"We must turn back!" That was Boromir, of course. Stupid chowderhead. "The hobbits will die." Gimli roared, "we should go through th' mines! My cousin will give us a rooooyal welcome." Stupid dwarf. She noticed Legolas sighing. Murderer. Gandalf was outmatched, but he looked at Frodo slightly desperately. "The ring bearer... shall decide."

Gandalf stared at the stone in front of them. The password hadn't worked. Soa stood just behind him, staring into the stone, a vacant look in her eyes, and one of the hobbits was tossing stones into the lake. "Gandalf," Frodo asked, "what's the dwarfish word for friend?" Gandalf looked surprised for a moment, but then said, "Mellon!" The doot began to swing open.

Gandalf was relieved, and strode into the mines. He heard a yelp and turned around. A large tentacle had snatched Frodo and was dragging him backwards. Gandalf watched as Soa instantly sprang into action. Her daggers, which had been returned by Elrond, suddenly adorned her hands, and she leaped with inhuman strength and grace onto the tentacle, slashing until Frodo fell. Legolas caught him, and everyone charged into the tunnel as the giant squid burst form the water.

The tunnel collapsed behind them. They were trapped. Soa returned to her position behind Gandalf, silent. "This is a tomb." Gandalf murmured. The group continued in silence. They reached a chamber and stepped inside. A single beam of light hit a large box. A coffin. Gimli collapsed on the coffin sobbing. Soa watched him cooly, as Gandalf read from an old book.

"They have taken the hall. We can not hold them out for much longer. They are coming. They are coming." Gimli let out another sob. Suddenly a deafening clanging resounded throughout the halls, quickly followed by another. "Fool of a Took!" Gandalf bellowed. Pippin had knocked over a skeleton. They heard a loud rumbling. "Goblins." Gandalf breathed.

Boromir ran to the door and closed it, then barred it off. "They have a cave troll." Soa calmly made her way to higher ground and slid out her daggers again. Everyone pulled out assorted weapons, ready to fight. Gandalf sighed. He knew they should've taken the mountain pass.

* * *

Legolas dodged goblins, shooting at the cave troll. He ran up one of the chains and shot an arrow into it's skull, but with no lasting effect. He jumped down and continued fighting. He noticed Soa in a corner, killing orcs by the dozen. Suddenly the troll leaped forward and reared back to punch a column near Soa. If he hit it she would be crushed.

He said several swear words in elvish, then leaped onto the trolls back and down to where Soa was, lifting her up and setting her safely on the floor some distance away. She said nothing but glared at him venemously.

They ran through the humongous halls, followed by a pack of goblins. Soon they were surrounded. And then they saw the light. The goblins scuttled away, up columns or back into recesses in the tunnel walls. "What is that?" someone asked. "Durin's Bain. A demon. Run. Run!" They ran, Gandalf leading, Soa keeping pace beside him, and Aragorn in the back. "We must make it to the bridge!"Legolas nodded and sped up slightly.

Slowly they made their way towards the bridge. Finally they reached it. All were across when Gandalf turned and stopped, causing Soa to slow as well to wait for the wizard just behind him. "You shall not pass!" Gandalf barked, and slammed his staff into the bridge. Instantly the bridge crumbled, and the demon fell into the abyss below.

Gandalf turned to walk across the bridge, but just then, a red hot whip wrapped around his ankles, dragging over the edge. He clung tightly, but to no avail. "Run, you fools." He said, before dropping into the abyss.

Soa screamed. Legolas, who's trained elf ears were better at hearing, rang. She ran to the edge of the bridge and continued to yell Gandalf's name until Aragorn said gruffly to Legolas, "Get her out of there." Legolas groaned. Why him? Reluctantly he went out and put a hand on her shoulder, dragging her away.

When Legolas glanced at her again, there was a fury in her eyes that hadn't been there since she had sliced him with a sword. This was not going to be pretty.

* * *

**It's very rough, I know, and kind of boring, but I promise it will get better. Like it? Hate it? Please read and review. IT WILL GET BETTER.**


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